by J. W. Vohs
She paused in her digging to catch her breath, and then viciously declared, “What they always do—try to control the world.”
Chien hesitated for a few seconds, not wanting to sound condescending. “That seems like a pretty tall order. Are they like some sort of Illuminati or something?” He didn’t really put much stock in such things, but he wanted to keep the conversation going.
She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before replying, “Yeah, something like that. But the word you’re looking for is ‘Libor-nati’.”
The colonel was fifty years-old, and no dummy by anyone’s definition, but he had no idea what the woman was talking about. He cocked his head in confusion and asked, “Libor…..what?”
She resumed her digging while explaining, “Libor is a word that originated in London. It refers to the interest rates leading banks estimate just before they trade currency, debt, and commodities with one another.”
Chien began to dig again, and he surprised himself by wanting to know more about libor and the libornati. In any event, he thought it was a good idea to keep the bereaved woman’s mind occupied as they prepared to bury her daughter. “So, how did libor affect you or any of the rest of us.”
She snorted derisively as she tossed a shovelful of dirt out of the deepening hole. “Libor is Sasquatch, aliens, Masons, and every other bogeyman reality TV tries to convince us to believe in, all rolled into one. Libor is the technique used to systematically transfer wealth into the hands of top banking institutions without anyone even realizing what’s happening.”
“Please, go on.”
“Well, in a world economy fueled by debt, the people who can manipulate the interest rates are the most powerful people in the world. That’s why I call them the ‘libor-nati’. It’s not really a term anybody else uses.”
Thankful to have the articulate, attractive woman focused on something other than the tragedy that had befallen her earlier in the evening, Chien kept her talking about the activities of her husband and his friends. “I was just an engineering student in college, ma’am, so could you explain to me how libor makes these bankers so powerful.”
For a brief moment she looked at the weary veteran with a hint of amusement in her eyes, and then she nodded and continued her explanation. “Let’s say that United Bank America wants to unload some of its assets to Berkley International in London. That morning, the leading banks agree to set the interest rates for all business between one another at five percent. UBA unloads ten billion in mortgage-backed securities to Berkley at a price that will eventually be repaid with the five percent interest bill attached. In the meantime, Berkley has found somebody, usually some municipality in the U.S. trying to secure bonds for a local investment, to buy the crappy securities at a higher rate. The politicians in the municipality are playing with future tax-funds, so they aren’t too worried about how the deal turns out as long as they can show their constituents that work is being done in their area. UBA was able to dump assets that were probably going to turn into liabilities very soon, and make a small profit while doing so. Berkley made money too. The only loser in the scheme is the public, and they don’t have any idea what’s happening to them. That’s one way libor is used.”
Chien didn’t want to admit that he was having a hard time following what she was talking about, so he prodded, “Can you give me other examples?”
Marie shrugged, “Sure. The big banks that set the libor rate have determined the number by eleven in the morning every business day. They have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to be in the coming days as well. So they can acquire everything from debts, to currency-bundles, to commodities like oil, with a rate they’ve set, and then sell them at a better rate in the future, which they have also set.”
They had both stopped digging for a moment, and Colonel Longstreet looked at Marie with a bit of disbelief, “I guess I’ve been serving the country too long to know how it’s being run. I’m not sure I’m following half of what you say, but I think the main point is that the fix is in. Big money is bigger than big government or anything else. Am I on the right track?”
She briefly smiled before adding, “You’re on the right track. I have a B.A. in Economics from Columbia, and an MBA from Wharton. Colonel, our so-called Capitalist system is a rigged game. The Federal Reserve banks set interest rates, control the flow of currency, and generally turn dials controlling our economy in any direction they think is best for them. Now, they have convinced everyone that their actions are in the best interest of the national and world economies, but at the end of the day do you really believe these banks are going to do anything that will hurt themselves? Listen, the top six banks in America own assets equal to about sixty percent of our national GDP. When people talk about the wealthiest individuals in the country, they never mention the real players. Banks hold assets in the tens of trillions. My brave husband is one of the biggest of those bankers.”
Chien briefly considered this information before asking, “Isn’t this stuff against the law? I mean, isn’t it like insider trading or something?”
Marie continued to dig as she answered, “Actually, most of what they do is legal; the federal government benefits from the system too. Sometimes they overreach, but nobody goes to jail and fines are manageable. Most of the time the penalty is in the millions, maybe in the low billions, which the Feds collect and then look the other way as the losses by the offending banks are made up in some other scheme. The government justifies their actions by claiming that these banks are too intricately involved in our economy, and they can’t be punished too severely or all of us will suffer from the consequences. That actually may be true at this point; no, I know it’s true. So now the banks call the shots and are essentially untouchable.
Chein interjected, “Now I have heard that—some banks are considered too big to fail.”
Marie continued, “The leaders of these banks are fully aware of their power, and they aren’t afraid to use it as they see fit. Somewhere between ten and twenty people are at the top of the pyramid, I could never figure out exactly who they all were. At least eight of them were here, but they all headed to the airport together this evening at the first sign of trouble on the island.”
“Why here?” Chien wondered.
“Well, Jay had a place here, and so did several other members of the group. I think they wanted to remain close to the United States, but stay safe, and an island off the coast seemed like a good choice for a hideout.”
“What’s their involvement with the Army? Why did USAMRIID send an officer out here with hundreds of vaccines?”
Marie frowned and shook her head, “Not exactly sure about that, but in the past few years Jay has had a number of meetings with someone named General Barnes, who I believe is in charge of USAMRIID.”
“Yeah, that’s the guy.” Chien felt a chill at the mention of Barnes’ name.
“Jay and the others expected him to show up here instead of that major, and they weren’t pleased when that didn’t happen. Knowing Jay and his cronies, they’re involved in some sort of conspiracy with Barnes and now suspect that he’s trying to wiggle out of whatever deal they had established.”
“Hmmm,” Chien speculated, “that’s why they wouldn’t take the vaccine.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they thought it wouldn’t work.”
“Do you know what happened to the people who did accept inoculation?”
A flash of pain crossed Marie’s face, “Well, it didn’t work on the gardener and his son! I know they were vaccinated, but they were the two bastards who attacked me and Missy after Jay took off.”
“The two who attacked you were inoculated yesterday?”
“Oh yeah, it was them. My guess is that Jay and his buddies wanted to see what the effect of the vaccine would be before they took it themselves. Apparently it didn’t work, because I saw the gardener take the shot. Jay told me that Missy and I should be vaccinated too, but I wasn’t about to risk it once I saw the big-wigs back away
.”
Chien didn’t respond for several moments as he considered the implications of what Marie was telling him. After collecting his thoughts, he inquired, “Where do you think your husband and his friends were heading to when they left in such a big hurry?”
Marie spat before retorting, “He isn’t my husband now; I divorced the SOB as soon as he left me and Missy behind. As to where they went, well, one of them has a huge estate on a Caribbean Island where he owns basically everything but the waves. I’m certain that’s where they went. They’ll ride this disaster out in a secure location and then pick up where they left off once it’s safe to start banking again.”
Chien stopped digging and rested his chin on the handle of the shovel, deciding he had enough information about the banking cabal running the world before asking, “Why did you marry Jay?”
Marie also leaned against her shovel as she thought about the question. “Do you have any idea how attractive and charming a sixty-year-old billionaire can be to a woman with a daughter and good name, but not much in the way of wealth? Part of me always wondered if I was just a trophy wife, but Jay spent a lot of time and money convincing me that I was the love of his life and he would treat Missy like his own daughter. We dated for over a year before I said yes. There were twenty-five years between us, but he seemed much younger than sixty. Viagra will do that for a guy.”
She sighed deeply before continuing, “If he’d worked at the local factory, I never would have noticed him. Money changes everything, but I didn’t want to admit that. I loved him at first, but after we married and I moved into his home, I began to see what a colossal prick he was. He’s actually one of those people who believe in Social Darwinism; you know, survival of the fittest between human beings. He truly thinks he’s one of the smartest humans walking the planet, and therefore has the right to use all other people as he wishes. I would have left him eventually, but I never thought he would abandon us to a pack of monsters.” She shivered before snarling, “Somebody needs to kill that bastard, and all his smug friends too.”
Chien could only stare, dumfounded, as Marie stared earnestly at him and demanded, “Promise me that you and your men will chase them down. You guys find them and this General Barnes and kill every one of them. You don’t know Jay and the rest of those bastards; they’re not surprised by what’s happening in the world right now. Everything’s going too smoothly for them; I think they knew what was coming. Please, promise me that you’ll make them pay.”
The colonel reached out and gently grasped Marie’s forearm, earnestly declaring, “I promise. We’ll do everything we can to find out how they’re involved in all this. But right now we need to take care of Missy and get back to the others. I have a feeling they’re going to need every gun they can find.”
* * *
By the time Missy was buried and Chien led her grieving mother back to the campsite, it was well past midnight. DeHaven had organized the refugees with weapons, at least those willing and able to fight, into squads leavened with Red Eagle men. The civilian leaders had been educating DeHaven and his leaders about the capabilities of the zombies, creatures that the refugees had been fighting or avoiding for well over a week. Strict noise control was being enforced throughout the camp, but with over three thousand people covering at least twenty acres, accidents were bound to happen. Every few minutes a baby would cry, or someone would shout out in terror as they fought the flesh-eaters in their nightmares, and once a gunshot split the night air and reverberated across the park.
As soon as he had found shelter and wrapped Marie up in his own sleeping bag, Chien went looking for DeHaven despite the exhaustion beginning to weigh him down. He had been trying to remember the stories his three Rangers had shared with him more than a decade earlier concerning their battle with the infected, and he wanted to inform the Red Eagle leader of some facts that might be critical as they sought to protect the civilians now under their care. He found the “Boss” finishing off a cup of coffee near the Hummer he had arrived in earlier, and the two old soldiers sat down to discuss the unfamiliar situation they now found themselves in.
“My men tried to warn me that someday we’d see this virus break free in the world,” Colonel Longstreet explained, “and they told me how to combat the infected. Jack Smith fought his way off that mountainside with a mace, and Carter Wilson backed him up with a bayonet fixed to his M-4. They were almost out of ammo, had realized that only head-shots were dropping the creatures, and were certain that noise attracted the monsters. The civilian reports we have received concerning this outbreak confirm their information.”
DeHaven nodded, “Well, we’re doing our best to control noise; what other measures are you suggesting?”
“No more shooting.”
The veteran mercenary raised an incredulous eyebrow, but Chien held up his hand and pleaded, “Just hear me out. The infected are relatively slow and clumsy, though some reports indicate that their coordination and speed appear to improve after a few days. The flesh-eaters on this island right now are new, and they’re vulnerable if we keep our heads and fight smart. Tell our men to use hammers, baseball bats, and any kind of club; hell, tell them to make some spears, but no more shooting.”
“We might get our men to listen,” DeHaven pointed out, “but how are we gonna keep hundreds of civilians from using their guns?”
Chien thought for a moment, “Keep the armed refugees here, on guard duty. At first light we lead our men back toward town and kill every creature we encounter. Maybe we can get to the shoreline and establish a line with our flanks protected by water, maybe use noise to call them in after we’ve set up our defenses.”
DeHaven leaned back and squinted at the Ranger for a few seconds before exclaiming, “You’re one crazy son-of-a-bitch!”
Chien frowned in disappointment until he saw that the boss was chuckling. The Red Eagle leader smiled as he leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “I like your plan.” He waited a moment before continuing, “Did you learn anything more about McAfee and his buddies while you were helping Marie bury her daughter?”
Chien felt a surge of anger at the mention of McAfee and his buddies. “What do you know about bio-terrorism, or whatever it is that USAMRIID was formed to combat?”
DeHaven shrugged as he replied, “I spent several decades fighting all over Africa; I don’t think bio-terrorism is at the top of their list.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well,” the old mercenary explained, “USAMRIID works closely with the CDC and the World Health Organization to fight the spread of deadly viral outbreaks wherever they appear. Africa seems to have more than its share of scary bugs. All of those groups will show up at the first hint of Ebola, or any type of hemorrhagic fever. From what I know, something like Ebola becoming airborne is a far greater threat than any kind of bio-terrorism.”
Chien took a few seconds to digest this information before asking, “Do you think they had an unlimited budget?”
DeHaven chuckled, “I haven’t lived in the states for over thirty years; you tell me how the funding works.”
Chien sounded disgusted as he replied, “That new Joint Strike Fighter has parts made in every single state in the union. You want funding for military projects; make sure a lot of representatives and senators have good reason to vote for you.”
The American expatriate smirked, “Part of the reason I never went home. But why are you asking me about it?”
“Well, if USAMRIID developed this virus and its vaccine, the costs were probably way beyond the amount of money the Army or Department of Defense provided for their operations.”
“Your point?” DeHaven prodded.
“McAfee and his buddies were among the wealthiest bankers on earth, and Barnes is apparently involved with them deeply enough to send resources their way in the middle of the most devastating war in history.”
“Ahhh, you’re suggesting that the bastards who hired us to protect them here were funding Bar
nes’ research and development in exchange for first dibs on the vaccine—“
Chien shivered involuntarily, “If there even is a real vaccine. It appears that our outbreak here resulted from the so-called inoculations. Marie and her daughter were attacked by workers that she’d seen vaccinated with her own eyes.”
DeHaven’s eyes turned to fire. “Oh, hell! Are you telling me that we caused a bunch of civilians to be infected by securing the vaccine for them? That the so-called vaccine actually just delivers the infection?”
“Not much in way of atonement for the incident at the bridge now is it?” Chein responded bitterly. “And believe it or not, right now that’s the least of my worries. Marie seems to believe that her husband and his banking colleagues have been manipulating the world economy for decades, growing obscenely wealthy by controlling interest rates on big transactions amongst themselves. Somewhere along the line the hooked up with General Barnes. What if the bankers were using Barnes and his virus as some part of a plan to gain greater control over the world? What if the reason they all left here so fast is that they’ve realized that Barnes has double-crossed them and is using the virus for his own purposes?”
DeHaven considered the possibilities in silence until finally shaking his head and countering, “We’re in the middle of a global collapse here; how would a bunch of bankers benefit from everyone being dead?”
Chien explained his developing theory, “I think that they were played from the beginning. Barnes had his own agenda and used the bankers’ money to fund his plans. They thought they would benefit from a health crisis, probably by controlling the vaccine that the world would pay almost anything to get. Barnes either wanted to destroy the world as we know it, or this virus slipped from his control. Either way, the crimes of both parties make Hitler look like an amateur.”
DeHaven was sat quietly for a few minutes, processing the information from Chein. “I know you’re exhausted, but round up a dozen or so civilians and have them write down your theory. We might not make it off this island, but somebody will. Make sure this information spreads as quickly as possible among our people and the refugees. I plan on hunting down Barnes and these bankers if we survive this situation, but if I can’t do it, I’ll feel a lot better knowing somebody will get them someday.”